An Open Door (part 5)

Yesterday I mentioned that God "spoke" to me about going to Africa to assist Augustin. It was through a verse in the passage I was studying in preparation for this past Sunday's sermon. The passage was Revelation 3:7-13. These verses make up Jesus' letter to the church in Philadelphia (the ancient city by that name which was located in the Roman Province of Asia). In that letter, Jesus says to the church, "See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut" (Revelation 3:8). As I studied that verse, I came to the conclusion that this open door could have two possible interpretations (of which I believe both are in view here). This open door refers to the open door of salvation that God places before humanity. It is a door that will always be open to anyone who will come and embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ. But I also believe that this open door refers to the open door of opportunity. The city of Philadelphia was located at the junction of many key trade routes. In fact, the main Imperial Post from Rome ran right through Philadelphia to points east. For this reason, the city was known as "The Gateway to the East." So you can just imagine the opportunities to proclaim the gospel that must have existed for this church.

Now as I thought on this open door of opportunity -- it was if God spoke to me audibly (which he did not of course). "John, I have placed before YOU an open door ... to minister short-term in Africa!". At that moment I knew that I had to notify Augustin that I would accept his invitation to travel to Africa to assist him in his work. I sent him that email just this past Saturday. Currently we are now working on trying to get something on the calendar. Scheduling will prove to be a challenge, given my current level of commitments and the fact that there is only ONE international flight that goes into the Central African Republic each week (so you sure don't want to be late for your flight!!!). So as details become available, I will let you know.

In closing, just to show you the extent of the influence of Augustin and the opportunity for the gospel that lays before him, he shared with me that he was meeting this week with the country's prime minister to pray with him (as the prime minister was planning to introduce his politcal agenda to the parliament this week) and discuss with the prime minister his desire to conduct leadership training for the government. So I invite you to please be in prayer that God would make this ministry opportunity happen. We are hoping that it will all come together to take place in the latter half of this year.

Thanks for stopping by this week . . .

pj